vifit Rome; where in the English College he had very many friends (their humanity made them really fo, though they knew him to be a difsenter from many of their principles of religion), and having enjoyed their company, and satisfied himself concerning fome curiofities that did partly occafion his journey thither, he returned back to Florence, where a most notable accident befell him : An accident that did not only find new employment for his choice abilities, but did introduce him to a knowledge and an intereft with our King James, then King of Scotland; which I fhall proceed to relate. But first, I am to tell the reader, that though Queen Elizabeth (or she and her council) were never willing to declare her fuccefsor; yet James, then King of the Scots, was confidently believed by moft to be the man upon whom the fweet trouble of kingly government would be impofed: And the Queen declining very faft, both by age and visible infirmities, those that were of the Romish perfuafion in point of religion (even Rome itself, and thofe of this nation), knowing that the death of the Queen, and the establishing of her fuccefsor, were taken to be critical days for destroying or establishing the Proteftant religion in this nation, did therefore improve all opportunities for preventing a Proteftant Prince to fucceed her. And as the Pope's excommunication of Queen Elizabeth had, both by the judgment and practice of the Jefuited Papift, expofed her to be warrantably deftroyed; fo (if we may believe an angry adverfary", "a Se P Pope Pius V. without any previous admonition or citation, had passed a private fentence of excommunication upon Queen Elizabeth; which, in 1576, he caufed to be published, and to be fixed upon the Bishop of London's palace-gate. By this exertion of his authority, he depofed her from her kingdom, and enjoined all her fubjects to throw off their allegiance to her. This Bull was completely anfwered by a foreign divine, Henry Bullinger, a minifter of the Reformed Church at Zurich. On this Bull Bishop Jewell addrefsed his congregation in animated language, telling them,-That he had read it and weighed it thoroughly, and found it to be a matter of great blafphemy against God, and a practice to work much unquietnels, fedition, and treafon againit our blessed and profperous government: “For it deposed the Queen's Majefty from her royal feat, and tore the crown from her head. It difcharged all her natural subjects from all due obedience, It armed "one fide of them against another. It emboldened them to burn, to "spoil, to rob, to kill, to cut one another's throats; like Pandora's box "lent to Epimetheus, full of hurtful and unwholefome evils." 66 (Bishop Jewell's Works.) 9 WILLIAM WATSON, a fecular prieft, compofed a book, written with great acrimony in the fcholaftic method ufually obferved at that time, confifting of ten quodlibets; each of which is fubdivided into as many articles. It difclofeth the character and conduct of the Jesuits; exhibiting in proper colours their arts of equivocation and mental refervation. Yet this man, fo acute in difcerning the errors of others, was hanged in 1603, for High Treaton, along with William Clark, a Popish H 4 prieft cular Priest against a Jefuit"), you may believe, that about that time there were many endeavours, firft to excommunicate, and then to shorten the life of King James. Immediately after Sir Henry Wotton's return from Rome to Florence (which was about a year before the death of Queen Elizabeth), Ferdinand, the Great Duke of Florence', had intercepted certain letters that discovered a design to take away the life of James the then King of Scots. The Duke abhorring the fact, and refolving to endeavour a prevention of it, advised with his Secretary Vietta, by what means a caution might be beft given to that King; and after confideration, it was refolved to be done by Sir Henry Wotton, whom Vietta first commended to the Duke, and the Duke had noted and approved of above all the English that frequented his court. Sir Henry was gladly called by his friend Vietta to the Duke, who, after much profeffion of truft and friendship, acquainted him with the fecret; and being well inftructed, dispatched him into Scotland with letters to the King, and, with those letters, fuch Italian antidotes against poifon as the Scots till then had been ftrangers to. Having parted from the Duke, he took up the name and language of an Italian; and thinking it beft to avoid the line of English intelligence and danger, he posted into Norway, and prieft, and George Brook, brother to Lord Cobham, in confpiring the death of James I. He had deceived his accomplices by inftructing them, "That the King, before his coronation, was not an actual but a "political king, and therefore no treafon could be committed against "him." See the State Trials. I FERDINAND I. of the houfe of Medici, who in 1589 fucceeded his brother Francis I. was educated for the church, and advanced to the dignity of a Cardinal. He refigned his hat when he was 52 years of age. A wife and excellent Prince, he applied himself to domeftic affairs and governed his fubjects with great mildness. He died in 1609. His character is drawn by Sir Henry Wotton in the "Reliquiæ Wottonianæ," p. 243. He is defcribed by a foreign hiftorian in these words: "Princeps animo excelfo, et omnibus politicis artibus in tantum inftructus, "ut in multis feculis vix æqualem habuerit.” "This Duke," fays Sir Henry Wotton, in an addrefs to Charles I. "while I was a private traveller in Florence, and went fometime by "chance (fure I am without any defign) to his court, was pleased out of "fome gracious conceit which he took of my fidelity (for nothing elfe "could move it), to employ me into Scotland, with a cafket of anti"dotes and prefervatives (wherein he did excel all the princes of the "world), and with a despatch of high and fecret importance, which he "had intercepted touching fome practice upon the fucceffion to this "crown; fo as I am much obliged to his memory, though it was a pain"ful journey, for that honour, and other favours and beneficences; and efpecially becaufe I caine thereby firft into the notice of the King your father, of ever-blefsed memory, when your Majefty was but a blooming rose." (Reliq. Wotton. p. 246. 66 through that country towards Scotland, where he found the King at Stirling: Being there, he used means by Bernard Lindfey, one of the King's bed-chamber, to procure him a fpeedy and private conference with his Majefty; afsuring him, "That the bufinefs which he was to negociate was of fuch confequence, as had caufed the Great Duke of Tuscany to en"join him fuddenly to leave his native country of Italy, to im"part it to his King." This being by Bernard Lindsey made known to the King, the King, after a little wonder (mixed with jealoufy) to hear of an Italian ambassador or mefsenger, required his name (which was faid to be Octavio Baldi '), and appointed him to be heard privately at a fixed hour that evening. When Octavio Baldi came to the prefence-chamber door, he was requested to lay afide his long rapier (which Italian-like he then wore), and being entered the chamber, he found there with the King three or four Scotch Lords ftanding distant in feveral corners of the chamber, at the fight of whom he made a ftand; which the King obferving, "bade him be bold, and "deliver his message; for he would undertake for the fecrecy "of all that were prefent." Then did Octavio Baldi deliver his letters and his message to the King in Italian: which when the King had graciously received, after a little pause, Octavio Baldi fteps to the table, and whispers to the King in his own language, that he was an Englishman, befeeching him for a more private conference with his Majefty, and that he might be concealed during his ftay in that nation; which was promifed, and really performed by the King during all his abode there, which was about three months: all which time was fpent with much pleafantnefs to the King, and with as much. to Octavio Baldi himself as that country could afford; from which he departed as true an Italian as he came thither. To the Duke at Florence he returned with a fair and grateful account of his employment; and within fome few months after his return, there came certain news to Florence, that Queen Elizabeth was dead, and James, King of the Scots, proclaimed King of England. The Duke knowing travel and business to be the beft fchools of wifdom, and that Sir Henry Wotton had been tutored in both, advised him to return prefently to England, In a letter to the King, dated Dec. 9, 1622, Sir Henry Wotton styles himself, "Your Majefty's faithful vafsal, and long devoted poor fervant, "Octavio Baldi." (Reliq. Wotton. p. 247.) And in a letter to Henry Prince of Wales, dated from Venice, April 14, 1608, he alludes to this circumftance of his life, calling himself "a poor counterfeit Italian." He probably assumed this name out of regard to the memory of Barnardino Baldi, Abbot of Guaftalla, a great mafter in his favourite fcience of architecture, and quoted by him as a commentator on Ariftotle's Mechanics. and there joy the King with his new and better title, and wait there upon Fortune for a better employment. When King James came into England, he found, amongst other of the late Queen's officers, Sir Edward, who was, after Lord Wotton, Comptroller of the Houfe, of whom he demanded, "If he knew one Henry Wotton, that had spent much time in "foreign travel?" The Lord replied, he knew him well, and that he was his brother: Then the King, afking where he then was, was anfwered, at Venice or Florence; but by late letters from thence he understood he would fuddenly be at Paris. "Send for him," faid the King; "and when he fhall come "into England, bid him repair privately to me." The Lord Wotton, after a little wonder, afked the King, "If he knew "him?" to which the King anfwered, "You must rest unfa"tisfied of that till you bring the gentleman to me." Not many months after this difcourfe, the Lord Wotton brought his brother to attend the King, who took him in his arms, and bade him welcome, by the name of Octavio Baldi; faying he was the most horeft, and therefore the best dissembler that ever he met with: And faid, "Seeing I know you neither "want learning, travel, nor experience, and that I have had "fo real a teftimony of your faithfulness and abilities to manage "an ambafsage, I have fent for you to declare my purpofe; "which is, to make use of you in that kind hereafter." And indeed the King did fo moft of thofe two-and-twenty years of his reign; but before he difmifsed Octavio Baldi from his prefent attendance upon him, he restored him to his old name of Henry Wotton, by which he then knighted him". Not long after this, the King having refolved, according to his motto, "BEATI PACIFICI," to have a friendship with his neighbour kingdoms of France and Spain; and also for divers weighty reafons, to enter into an alliance with the ftate of Venice, and to that end to send ambassadors to those several places, did propofe the choice of thefe employments to Sir Henry Wotton; who confidering the fmallnefs of his own eftate (which he never took care to augment), and knowing " James I. was as liberal in the diftribution of honours, as his predecefsor Queen Elizabeth was fparing. In 1603 he conferred knighthood on more than five hundred perfons. × James I. heard with great pleafure the epithet of the " pacific" monarch applied to himself. "I know not by what fortune the dicton "of pacific was added to my title at my coming into England, that of "the lyon expreffing true fortitude having been my dicton before: But I am not ashamed of this addition; for King Solomon was a figure of Chrift, in that, that he was a King of Peace. The greatest gift that our Saviour gave his apofiles immediately before his afcen"hon was, that he left his peace with them, he himself having prayed for his perfecutors and forgiven his own death, as the proverb is.' (King James's Works, p. 590. the courts of great princes to be fumptuous, and necefsarily expenfive, inclined moft to that of Venice, as being a place of more retirement, and beft fuiting with his genius, who did ever love to join with bufinefs, ftudy, and a trial of natural experiments for both which, fruitful Italy, that darling of Nature, and cherisher of all arts, is fo juftly famed in all parts of the Chriftian world.. Sir Henry having after fome fhort time and confideration refolved upon Venice, and a large allowance being appointed by the King for his voyage thither, and a fettled maintenance during his stay there, he left England, nobly accompanied through France to Venice by gentlemen of the best families and breeding that this nation afforded: they were too many to name, but these two, for the following reafons, may not be omitted. Sir Albertus Morton his nephew, who went his fecretary; and William Bedel, a man of choice learning, and fanctified wisdom, who went his chaplain. And though his dear friend Dr. Donne (then a private gentleman) was not one of the number that did perfonally accompany him in this voyage, yet the reading of the following letter fent by him to Sir Henry Woton, the morning before he left England, may testify he wanted not his friend's best wishes to attend him. SIR,.. LETTER. AFTER thofe reverend papers, whose foul is Our good and great King's lov'd hand and fear'd name: By which to you he derives much of his, And, how he may, makes you almost the same; A taper of his torch; a copy writ From his original, and a fair beam Of the fame warm and dazzling fun, though it After thofe loving papers which friends fend And thicken on you now, as prayers afcend To heaven on troops at a good man's patling-bell2: y In 1604. 66 z The foul-bell was tolled before the departure of a person out of life, as a fignal for good men to offer up their prayers for the dying. Hence the abuse commenced of praying for the dead. Aliquo moriente campanæ debent pulfari, ut populus hoc audiens oret pro illo." Durandi rationale. |